September 20, 2012

February 28, 2012

Last night, Matt Kenseth won what many are calling the most bizarre Daytona 500 in history. The race was plagued by a fiery crash, a rain delay (the event’s first ever), and a series of other crashes that necessitated extra laps at the race’s end. It was an exciting event, but was it an economic boost for Daytona Beach?
Yes, according to a paper from 2000, but not to the extent that NASCAR would have you think. Some studies popular within the racing industry estimate that new raceways will bring hundreds of millions in economic benefits for communities.

March 19, 2011

Over the next few months, the dedicated Reagan fan will have numerous opportunities to celebrate the fortieth president. There are tributes at a NASCAR race in California in late March and at Chicago’s Wrigley Field in early August. The Gipper’s hometown— Dixon, Illinois—will host a “Dutch” ice cream social in September; Washington will throw a gala in May, and London will unveil a statue on July 4.

February 11, 2011

Over the course of the Egypt crisis, it’s become clear that the Washington-centric cable talk show format is ill-equipped to handle a foreign revolution. The logical thing would have been to book experts on say, Egypt. Instead, shows like MSNBC’s “Meet the Press” and Fox’s “Hannity” often just rotated in their regular go-to guests, asking former politicians, political pundits, and at least one NASCAR driver to share their insights on the latest developments in the Middle East. Some of the answers were vague, some woefully uninformed, and others made no sense at all.

November 02, 2009

June 15, 2007

Given the substantial overlap between TNR's readership and NASCAR Scene's, I'm sure many of you have been waiting with baited bated* breath for our take on Dale Earnhardt Jr's decision to sign with Hendrick Motorsports. I'm happy to outsource the analysis to Slate's John Swansburg who, through his Home-Depot-orange-tinted glasses, sees it as good for Junior and bad for NASCAR.